Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a masonry block. More particularly, the invention relates to a building block having cavities for insulation.
Discussion of the Prior Art
Masonry blocks are frequently used for building walls of residential and commercial structures. In a conventional masonry block wall, the blocks are laid on bond, that is, the one block covers one half of two blocks below it, so that the vertical joint formed by adjacent blocks in one row does not align with a vertical joint similarly formed in a previous row. The blocks typically have passageways that allow reinforcement bars (hereinafter referred to as “re-bar”) to be inserted through the blocks to form a rectangular grid. For example, every four feet in the horizontal direction a re-bar is inserted in the vertical direction through the rows of block in that vertical four-foot length, and every four feet in the vertical direction a re-bar is inserted in the horizontal direction through the blocks that form that four-foot expanse. The re-bar is then tied together to form a rigid grid by filling cement grout into the cavities with the re-bar.
It is highly desirable these days to provide a masonry block that contains insulation material. The fact that re-bar is inserted in masonry blocks makes it difficult to easily and economically provide a masonry block with insulation. It is also difficult to secure the insulation within the block.